Harward told Associated Press that the Trump administration was "very accommodating to my needs, both professionally and personally." However, the refusal was "purely a personal issue" for him.

"I'm in a unique position finally after being in the military for 40 years to enjoy some personal time," Harward said.

Trump's former National Security Adviser was removed from his position over his links with Russia. Flynn had made a phone call in December 2016 to Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak, soon after the Obama administration imposed new sanctions on Russia for interfering with the US elections. He had initially said that the duo had just discussed scheduling matters and the sanctions against Russia were not discussed. Trump affiliates, including US Vice President Mike Pence, had backed Flynn's claims at the time.

After Flynn's removal from the position, the administration officials said that his deputy KT McFarland was staying with the National Security Council. McFarland is a former Fox News analyst.

The White House had, earlier this week, released a statement saying that Trump had known that Flynn had not been truthful about his phone call with Kislyak. The statement also mentioned that Trump only asked him to resign on Monday after it was clear that Flynn had lost his and Pence's trust.

The US President, during a news conference on Thursday, said that he was disappointed over how Flynn treated the Vice President. He, however, did not believe that Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations. Trump said if Flynn hadn't made the call before, the President would have asked to make one eventually.